


Let Us Help You, Let Me Help You.

by ItsAkira (Nasharuu)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Kidd being the emotional supporting Persona we deserve, M/M, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Ryuji being a ray of sunshine, Ryuryu is trying his best ok, Self-Esteem Issues, Someone help Akira he needs it, he wants to save his bro, he's trying too ok, they are crushing so hard I feel for them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21925378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nasharuu/pseuds/ItsAkira
Summary: While exploring Joker's Palace, Ryuji finds a pathway, and ends up separated from his team. With resolve, he embarks to find the Treasure by his own. Getting his best friend as quick as possible being his priority.He didn't excepted to encounter his best friend's Shadow instead.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 15
Kudos: 392





	Let Us Help You, Let Me Help You.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blifuys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blifuys/gifts).

> heyeyey I'm backk  
This time I bring my Pegoryu Discord Server's Secret Santa present to the lovely [aiaiailee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blifuys/pseuds/blifuys)  
You were my SS!! I ended this fic a little bittesweet but I hope you like it anyways! 
> 
> this is based on my, for now unreleased, Palace!Akira AU.
> 
> Enjoy!

Prompt: _"i like some angst with happy endings!"_

Ryuji walked into the long hallway, his eyes scanning every single velvet covered walls. Since the team found out that Akira had a palace, they have been going non stop in hopes to save their leader, their friend. The walls were covered with lustrous painting that Fox would 100% approve, all of them depicted Akira— _ Shadow Akira—  _ with a neutral, almost doll like expression. The blond felt a pang of pain in his chest. 

** _“This is what Arsene’s kid has been hiding?” _ ** Retorted Captain Kidd from the depths of Ryuji’s soul. 

“Yeah. He has been through a lot…” he could feel Kidd shift. 

** _“Well, gotta bring ‘im back, aye?” _ **

Lucky, Ryuji didn’t had to fight any of the Shadows in the area, they all seemed to scamper as soon as they laid eyes with the blond.  _ Weird. _

Ryuji ended in a hall with wide, red wine colored velvety doors. He could feel Kidd shift inside him, disturbed by something behind these doors. 

** _“Lad…” _ **

“Yeah, I know Kidd,” he muttered, as he pressed his hands on the door and pushed. The doors revealed a huge ballroom. The place reminded Ryuji of Kamoshida’s Palace. At the far end of the room there was a set of stairs leading to a landing, which stretched to the sides.  _ A place for guests to see the performance.  _

“What the…?” awed the blond, brown eyes scanning every inch of the room. 

** _“Lad, I don’t think this is a good idea…” _ ** just as Kidd said those words, the lights of the room shut down, encasing the room in darkness and startling the two of them. 

“What the shit!?”

_ “Oh. We have a guest?”  _ there was a voice, which gave Ryuji a shiver. Suddenly, spotlights turned on dramatically as they focused on a figure on the other side of the room. Yellow eyes behind a white mask perched themselves on Ryuji.  _ “An  _ ** _unwanted_ ** _ one, that is.” _

Ryuji tried to ignore the hurtful comment. He knows that his best friend didn’t though of him like that. “Dude, we are here to help you!”

Shadow Akira scoffed, his hands clenching on white gloves.  _ “ _ ** _Help?_ ** _ Hah, don’t make me laugh, Skull”  _ he slowly approached the teen with calculated steps. Kidd shuddered. _ “We all know there is no way to help someone like me. So unredeemable.”  _

Ryuji felt anger boil inside him “That’s bullshit! You know it! Look at that bastard of Akechi, he changed his ways and he is worst than us!” he wanted his friend -the  _ Shadow _ of his friend- to understand that he is wrong, that he isn’t “unredeemable”, that society is incorrect. And it makes him impotent, knowing he can do something yet not knowing how. 

Shadow Akira stopped, his eyes narrowing. He lifted one of his hands above his head,  _ “so  _ ** _loud_ ** , _ ”  _ and with a snap of his fingers, the spotlight faded, bringing the darkness once more. 

“Oh, fuck that!” exclaimed the teen, ripping his mask off and summoning Kidd, commanding a mazio that lit up the room. For a split second he saw Shadow Akira right on his face. The blond jumped at the action, feeling a velvet touch on his cheek, then gripping his chin, tilting it upwards. 

_ “So handsome…”  _ purred the cognition, causing the zio user to blush. Thankfully his mask and the darkness hid most of it. Ryuji clenched his teeth in a snarl, blindly swinging his pipe towards the Shadow. He could hear Shadow Akira as he moved away from him in a swift movement.  _ “Too bad you lack manners, or poise.”  _

The blond was seething with anger. He was seeing red, ready to calcinate the cognition in front of him. But he could also feel a pang of sadness on his chest. He didn’t want to hear Akira say these things. He was his best friend. He felt betrayed.

“Stop with this bullshit, ‘Kira. Just let us help you!”

Shadow Akira just stood there. Looking at the blond with a mix of boredom and intrigue. The cognition didn’t say anything, he just clapped his hands, causing the room to light up. Suddenly, the room was filled with Shadows, cognitions of other people and they were dancing a slow waltz. 

** _“Lad, what now?” _ ** asked Kidd, his voice nervous. Ryuji looked around, trying to find a way around the dancing cognitions. His eyes landed on Shadow Akira, who was still on the other side of the room. His hands behind his back, stare defiant. 

“We have no choice but to join his game if we want ‘Kira back,” he said, sending Kidd away. Ryuji moved around the Shadows to the middle of the room, his gaze never breaking with the shadow of his best friend. When he stood right in front of him, he stretched a yellow gloved hand. Shadow Akira raised a curious brow at him. “Can we have this dance?”

The cognition stood silent, only to smirk coyly,  _ “sure.” _

Ryuji guided the cognition towards the center of the room, all other shadows moving out of their way to give them space. Shadow Akira laid a hand on his shoulder, grabbing his yellow gloved hand with the other. Ryuji instinctively put his free hand on the cognition’s waist. And when they felt settled enough, the cognition started moving, swaying side to side slowly. Ryuji never danced like this before, but he has seen Haru do this, so he was kinda familiar with the motion. He couldn’t help but lock eyes with the cognition. Even if they were a sickening bright yellow color, they were Akira’s eyes. The blond felt himself drawn in by them. 

_ “No wonder he adores you,”  _ comments the Shadow, his eyes scanning Ryuji’s face. The mentioned perked up, knowing he was talking about Akira,  _ the real Akira _ . The cognition moved the hand on the blond’s shoulder to hold Ryuji’s mask, lifting it of his face. 

“Wha-.. well yeah.”

_ “And you adore him too.”  _

Ryuji blushed at that, his brown eyes downcast. “Yeah, how couldn’t I? He’s so effing cool and smooth… I kinda envy ‘im” at his words the lights turned off, a single spotlight fixed on them. Shadow Akira stopped, unlatching himself from Ryuji, taking a few steps back to make distance. As if he was repulsed by being  _ near  _ Ryuji. 

_ “You  _ ** _think_ ** _ ? You would hate him if you saw who he really is. Broken and timid, conditioned to behave as a dog, not letting himself off in any way.”  _ The room shook with each word, physical tension rising and making the air unbearable heavy. 

** _“Shit, Lad. we had ‘im there!” _ ** exclaimed Kidd in frustration,  ** _“why can’t that seaweed of him understand!” _ **

“‘Kira.”

**“I am NOT him!” ** yelled the cognition, losing his temper. Ryuji could hear his distorted voice getting worse. The room rumbled under his tone.  **“Everyone ** ** _LOVES _ ** **Joker! They don’t accept ME for who I am, they just want to see how ** ** _cool_ ** ** Joker is, don’t they?” ** Ryuji winced, recalling those times Morgana called how cool he looked, or how he himself praised Joker for any takedown, all out attack or the finding of a treasure. He knew how Joker felt, but he didn’t know how  _ Akira  _ felt. 

**“I’m just a criminal. A delinquent. Just an entertainment for sick ****_fucks _****like them to laugh at!”** the cognition’s voice suddenly changed, a more feminine tone instead of his regular yet distorted tone. **_“ ‘Remember, stand tall and silent, be a good boy and don’t _****_disappoint_****_ us’,”_** that’s when Ryuji realized he was imitating his mother’s voice. Akira had told him how she commanded him to “behave”**_ “TOO BAD _****I decided to help that woman from being assaulted by Shido, how bad of me.”**

“‘Kira.. that’s not true,” Ryuji wanted to calm down the cognition, since it was going nuts at this moment. But then he decided not to as a thought crossed his mind: He was _ venting.  _ ** _Akira_ ** _ was venting through his own Shadow.  _

** _“Let him finish, Lad,”_ ** reasoned Kidd, now hovering as an apparition to his right, his red/yellow eye fixed on Shadow Akira, ** _ “he needs it.”_ **

Ryuji stood there, a frown on his face. Why he bottled all of this inside? Did he not trusted them enough? He remembers Akechi’s words before all of this started 

_ “Kurusu has been dealing with this situation since his charges and the start of his probation. He sees that everyone had failed him. And he hid these feelings under a “mask” when he arrived to Tokyo. _

_ Kurusu thinks that he’s an actor. A performer for all Tokyo to see. He plays the role society wants him to play.” _

After a moment, Shadow Akira slumped over, falling on his knees as the lights turned back on. His mask felt off his face and clattered loudly on the polished floor.  **“I’m nothing but a ** ** _fucking _ ** **act…”**

Ryuji approached the Shadow when he saw he wasn’t screaming anymore, and went to his knees in front of him to match his eye level. “Listen, dude. I don’t care what you think others see you as. But I  _ fucking know _ that I don’t see you as what you just said

I see you as this…  _ amazing  _ dude who won’t hesitate to throw hands at any shitty adults that messes with anyone. An amazing Leader that can have his head out of his ass. And…” he paused, his cheeks burning, “as this amazing friend that has been there for all of us, that understands us. An amazing dude I have no shame to admit  _ I love. _ ..” 

Shadow Akira is looking at Ryuji, face still downcast, his yellow eyes filled with unshed tears. He shook his head meekly, “I’m not…” 

“You are. C’mon ‘Kira, let  _ us  _ help you. You are our leader, but you are human too. You have been in a lot of shit.” he said, this time his yellow gloved hand gripped the cognition’s chin, tilting it up so they could properly lock eyes.  _ Those beautiful eyes.  _ Ryuji looked at his friend’s cognition with the warmest eyes he ever mustered. “Let us be your support for once. Lift off.”

The shadow blinked, eyes unfocused while torrents of tears silently fell of his eyes. The blond felt worry rising up.  _ Did he upset him? _

His words died on his throat as the cognition stood up, now towering over Skull. He rubbed his eyes, removing his tears off his eyes and looked at Ryuji with softness. “_Thank you, Ryu._ **_I love you too_**_._” 

The lights flickered off and then on, making Ryuji wince at the sudden change of illumination. When he looked around, Shadow Akira was nowhere to be seen. The blond looked down at his hands and he saw the white mask Akira was wearing, some of the white vanishing as it revealed itself to be Joker’s domino mask. The zio user looked at the mask, gripping it tightly, but not enough to break it. 

** _“Lad?” _ ** asked Kidd, hovering over his other self. Ryuji stood up, turning around to flash a determined gaze to his Persona. Kidd just nodded, dissolving back into the teen’s soul. Ryuji fixed back his own mask, walking to the other side of the room and climbing the stairs. There was a door on the end. He looked back at the dancefloor, eyes downcast but determined, as he walked towards the door.

  
  


_ He could still feel the lingering of the cognition’s lips over his own for a second, back then when the lights flickered, before disappearing. _

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays to y'all!!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
